Two new Fiats coming this year

Fiat will reintroduce the Punto after a three-year Australian hiatus next month, before launching the all-new Panda light hatch in the fourth quarter of this year.

Further afield, the Italian brand’s local line-up could be bolstered by up to three derivatives of the new 500L, with the standard 500L five-door, 500L Living people-mover and 500L Trekking crossover all under serious consideration for Australian release late next year.

Fresh from launching its new Dodge Journey-based Freemont people-mover in April and a lower $14,000 drive-away entry price for the new 500 Pop in June, Fiat will model relaunch the small Punto hatchback range in the first week of August.

First released in Australia by former Fiat distributor Ateco Automotive in July 2006 (when it became the first Fiat sold here in 16 years) before it was discontinued in May 2010, the Punto will be available here in both three-door and five-door forms.

All versions will be powered exclusively by a 57kW eight-valve 1.4-litre petrol engine matched with both five-speed manual and automated manual Dualogic transmissions. No turbo-petrol or diesel variants will be offered in Australia.

Fiat Chrysler Group Australia President and CEO Veronica Johns would not divulge sales targets for the Punto, but said consumers would be “pleasantly surprised” with its pricing, which is expected to start from under $20,000.

Expect the standard equipment list to include electronic stability/traction control, anti-lock brakes, 15-inch wheels, air-conditioning, remote central locking and power windows/mirrors.

Riding on a 2510mm wheelbase, the Punto measures 4065mm long, 1687mm wide and 1490mm high, making it closer in size to the Ford Fiesta than the Focus.

Next cab off the Fiat rank in Australia this year will be the Panda city-car, which dates back to 1980 but has never been sold here.

A taller but smaller five-door hatchback that measures 3650mm long, 1640mm wide and 1550mm high, the Panda rides on a 2300mm wheelbase and the same platform as the Fiat 500 and Ford MkII Ka.

No further details of Australia’s first Panda are known, but only the front-wheel drive version will be offered initially, with the all-wheel drive Panda 4x4 remaining under consideration.

In Europe, the Panda is available with Fiat’s 0.9-litre two-cylinder TwinAir petrol engine, the 1.2-litre four-cylinder ‘Fire’ engine and the 1.3-litre Multijet turbo-diesel, matched with manual and semi-auto gearboxes.

Expect Panda pricing to start closer to $15,000, potentially causing overlap problems with the 500L models, which would be priced higher than the repositioned Fiat 500 line-up that now spans $14,000-$22,200.

Fiat Chrysler Group Australia is currently considering the release of all three 500L models recently launched in Europe, but none would arrive in local showrooms within 12 months.

Johns said all future Fiat models would come with the same sharp pricing structure seen for both the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands since the Chrysler Group assumed factory control of local distribution from Neville Crichton’s Ateco Automotive import business.

In June, its first full month on sale, the repriced Fiat 500 range experienced a 300 per cent sales spike, helping Fiat to a 150 per cent sales increase in the first half of this year.

“There’s been an incredible sales spike -- we were overwhelmed with the response,” said Johns, who is hoping for a similar sales surge from Alfa Romeo, led by the repriced Giulietta.

The Giulietta small-car range was relaunched with a lower $25,000 drive-away starting price in May, while a facelifted MiTo light car will be launched here in September or October this year.

So far this year Giulietta sales are up 91 per cent, MiTo sales are up 75 per cent and total Alfa sales are ahead 52 per cent – despite a 58 per cent slump in 159 sales.

“When we first started working on the acquisition of the (Fiat) brand we truly believed we could bring in models that consumers demand,” said Johns.

“We didn’t get these brands off Neville to do exactly the same thing – they’ve been a sleeping brand for a long time. Alfa has something that no other brand has. There’s so much passion there.

“It’s about bringing that out in everyone and making vehicles attractive and available to everyone. Independent distributors are more in it for them than they are for the brand.”

Alfa’s next major model launch will be the mid-engined 4C supercar in the first quarter of next year, but there is no sign yet of the all-new mid-size Giulia sedan.

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